Abstract

Various rationales for external auditing appear to have limited application in the context of Malaysia where the auditors exist in an environment marked by little publicity and little public clamour for needed changes although the same environment is tarnished by numerous cases of corporate illegality, unaccountability and the use of questionable business practices. This situation is in marked contrast to that confronted by auditors in Anglo-Saxon countries and their counterparts from other developing countries in Asia such as India, South Korea and Singapore.  Therefore, to appreciate "how" the social role of auditors is determined or "why" audit is executed in Malaysia, it is necessary to situate the interaction between "society" and the audit function within a proper "context" that includes history and environmental factors. It is accordingly suggested that a research conducted by applying the political economic theory - introduced by Tinker (1980) and refined by Cooper & Sherer (1984) to explain accounting experiences - driving an enlarged exogenous analytical framework of processual change analysis - developed by Smith (1973) and adapted to accounting by McKinnon (1986) - which in turn is supported by the qualitative case study research strategy that stresses the use of oral and documented evidence should be the more appropriate vehicle.

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